Home is Where the Spark is
by TitaniumAbsol
Summary: Before the events of Transformers Prime, a lone Autobot crashed onto Earth and taken in by a human family. This is their story throughout the years.
1. The Beginning of a New Era

**_Hi, this is my first fic. I have another one I'm going to start working on that actually takes place in Transformers Prime but this is kinda like a prequel I guess to that not as of yet existing fic. Tell me how you think of it! And thanks for reading!_**

* * *

**_Year: unknown_**

Far in space, came a crashing pod. Its trajectory: Earth. Warnings and notifications popped up inside the pod but the cybertronian within was still and his optics dark. So, with no resistance from the passenger, the pod went hurtling through the atmosphere.

* * *

**_Year: 1979_**

For 28 year old and 26 year old Adorana and Moreno Espina, this was not the time for the car to break down. Thick smoke kept wafting up into the Nevadan desert night. Adorana hit the car with her walking stick in spite as Moreno tried waving down a vehicle. Neither worked.

Moreno walked back over to Adorana who had opted to stay nice and far away from the vehicle after finishing her wailing on the back stabbing car.

Adorana's curly brown hair was in a loose ponytail after she tied it back. Her cheerful demeanor was now one of annoyance. The car's end was long over due, but that didn't make her feel better.

"We have to phone Doña Esquivel that we might be late into Jasper until the morning," sighed Moreno, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He did not like being away from their infant for too long, even if Ciro was in good hands with Mrs. Esquivel. His dark eyes were looking around for an answer to this problem as he scratched his tanned skin.

He flipped his phone open only for it to shut off. No battery.

Adorana held his shoulders, giving him a determined look. He was known to start spiraling down into his thoughts, as smart as he was.

"We will be fine. Let's wait for another car, come on," she affectionately fixed his glasses and lead him to a little hill nearby.

Adorana did not lie to herself; she did not like this situation. Both her and her husband had dead phones so calling for a tow was out of the question. The car might explode, judging by the smoke and to top it off, her bad leg was starting to act up so she had to rely on her walking stick more than usual. So they sat there, leaning on each other and watching the endless highway.

Dawn was slowly starting to creep into the sky as they sat in wait for hours, still not seeing any cars pass by. Thankfully, they had leftover food and drinks from the Colombian/Mexican party they were invited to so they munched on some tamales and coke.

Though Moreno was distracted and kept adjusting his glasses to something in the sky.

"Mira."

Adorana followed his gaze to see what looked to be a comet coming into the atmosphere. But it looked wrong. And it looked too close for comfort.

Realization hit both of them.

"Vamos amor!" She grabbed her stuff and the two of them ran (Adorana limped) down the hill just as the comet came crashing into the ground on the other side of the hill with a shower of rocks.

'Qué fue eso?' Adorana thought as she got her bearings. She coughed and quickly found Moreno who was also coughing. He hugged her tight and checked her over for injuries, but she was fine.

"I think we need to see what that was, corazón." She said.

Moreno nodded and the two carefully pressed to the side of the hill, trying to catch a glimpse of something in the dust.

"What do you think it is?" Murmured Moreno, shuffling closer to the landing site.

Moreno wasn't one to believe in unfounded claims but he would be hard pressed to say he didn't believe that there are intelligent lifeforms out in the stars. The universe is big, would it be a stretch to say that there must be something out there?

The two shuffled together until the were at the edge of a small crater, at the center; what looked to be a metal pod.

"Huh," said Adorana.

"El gobrieno?" Wondered Moreno.

She kept her eyes on the pod. "No lo creo."

There came a low groan from the pod. Quickly with shifting gears and panels, it opened up revealing a passenger. A very tall, metal, passenger.

His optics snapped online.

* * *

~Translations for Spanish words~

**_Doña -_** Mrs.

**_Mira - _**Look

**_Vamos_**** \- **Come on/ Let's go

**_Amor _****\- **Love/Dear

**_Qué fue eso - _**What was that

**_Corazón - _**Heart/ My heart

**_El Gobierno - _**The government

**No lo creo - **I don't think so


	2. Who Are You?

**_Warning: High speed collision alert with_**

**_with_**

**_with_**

**_Planet: Earth_**

**_Protocol: Inquiry?_**

**_..._****_._**

**_Protocol: Inquiry?_**

**_Activate emergency landing._**

* * *

His optics snapped online. And every CPU alert exploded into his processor, with big flashing neon red symbols and mental alarms. He screwed his optics shut.

It was too much, even for an Elite Guard.

He stumbled out and fell to his knees pikes, holding his helm in his servos.

_Gather youself bot. No time for this._

He filed away the alerts and warnings and forced himself to online his optics again. And he knew he was no longer on Cybertron.

The sky was dark and filled with stars, similar to Cybertron's sky but was getting lighter, unlike Cybertron's sky. He quickly realized that this place had a gaseous atmosphere and a red dusty terrain. He scooped up some of the red sand, careful in not letting it get into the gears of his servo. It would take eons for it to get out.

He was just taking it in. Cybertron was dead.

He was dimly aware that he was not alone, but the urgency wasn't getting to him. It reminded him of the time where he was sick with a virus which inhibited his processing capacity for a while before the virus was destroyed. But with a quick check up, the alert for 'infection' did not pop up.

A sound alerted him the position of his watchers.

It was two organics staring at him in shock. At least, he thought it was shock. He was still out of it.

"Olé...? ...Hello?" said the organic with what looked like a metal crutch in their grip. They waved one hand at the bot.

He cycled his optics and stared dumbly back. What was the protocol for encountering alien life forms again?

For the two Hispanics, this was probably a lifetime event. The metal robot was several feet tall, even on its knees. Pale blue plating with black accents and what the two were sure were scores of scars were on its body. Its glowing blue eyes were trained on them, but not really focused.

"Tal vez está herido?" Moreno whispered.

The bot, on the other hand, or servo, had no idea what they were saying. He searched quickly and found the internet. They were speaking English and Spanish. They were called humans, mammals of high intelligence compared to other organic creatures on this planet called Earth.

He downloaded every word in both languages and tentatively clicked his voice box on.

"Quien eres tú?"

They jumped.

"Quien eres _tú_?" the organic that did not have the metal stick asked.

The bot paused and then replied in a mix of English and Spanish.

"Me llamo Dropguard, uhh... Guardia de caída...?" the translation wasn't perfect in Spanish, but it was closer in English.

The organic who asked the question smiled. "Moreno Espina, y esta es Adorana Espina, mi esposa," he gestured to the other organic, Adorana.

"This is fun," Adorana said waving her hands at the whole scene, "but you are an alien, si?"

He nodded slowly.

"Then we need to hide you!" She exclaimed.

"Por que?" Dropguard was starting to get his processor back from its funk.

"The government." Moreno said flatly.

That didn't explain much but Dropguard was also suppose to be under the radar to avoid any Cons that might have followed him.

That gave him a start.

"Tienes un carro? O otro vehículo?" Best to get a native alt form to blend in as quickly as possible.

The two humans winced.

"Ours is broken..."

Moreno furrowed his brows. "Por que preguntas?"

"A disguise for me to use here."

He got to his pedes and salvaged what he could from the wreck. A small Energon tracker, a small Energon processor and his spear that he hooked onto his back between his doorwings. He walked off, beckoning for the humans to come with him.

The two quickly followed him to another hill he could hide behind, now all three watching the highway, the humans wondering how he was going to use a vehicle to disguise himself, and the cybertronian wondering what vehicles looked like here on Earth.

And without needing to wait for too long, what Dropguard identified as a sort of van came driving by.

Perfect.

He scanned the van and processed the data. The next moment, Adorana and Moreno were face to face with a pale blue van.

The two gawked again. This night (actually day) was getting weirder and weirder. Were they dreaming?

The doors to the passenger and driver sides popped open, revealing no driver. Dropguard's voice called out from within.

"Where to?"

* * *

**_~Translations~_**

**_Olé- _**Hello

_**Tal vez está herido- **_Maybe he's hurt

_**Quien eres tú- **_who are you

_**Me llamo- **_My name is

_**y esta es- **_and this is

_**Mi esposa- **_my wife

_**Si- **_yes

_**Por que- **_why

_**Tienes un carro? O un otro vehículo- **_do you have a car? Or another vehicle

_**Por que preguntas- **_why do you ask


	3. Deal

"De donde eres, Guardía?"

The two humans had decided to just refer to him as Guardía in Spanish, which he did not mind. It was still his name and his job after all.

"Guardía?" Poked Moreno.

If he was in his bot mode, they would have seen him close his optics.

"Cybertron. Un planeta lejos de aquí."

It was just now that he realized how much he ached all over. Joints stiff, dented chassis and many other grievances. The terrain was rough but the knowledge that he had enough Energon to last him a while was enough to comfort him.

The two humans said that the drive back to their home would take about forty minutes, not counting the time to pick Ciro up from Mrs. Esquivel.

"Who is Ciro? Another family member?" He asked.

The humans suddenly beamed in pride, which made Dropguard focus on their next words more carefully. Whoever it was, they were important.

"Ciro is our son," explained Moreno with a smile. "Our offspring," he elaborated.

"Similar to a sparkling?"

"If that is what you call a baby, yes. He's 18 months old y tan pequeñito," gushed Adorana, miming how small Ciro was. He was indeed a small baby.

A stretch of quiet followed them for a time. It gave the bot a moment to really differentiate Adorana and Moreno from each other.

Adorana was a woman with brown red tanned skin and what Dropguard later learned were called freckles all over her body. Her hair was now in a bun as she stared out the window. She didn't seem to like the silence.

Morenon was a man with curly short hair compared to Adorana's. His skin was tan as well though not with the same reddish hue as his wife. On his face he had a pair of glasses and a short beard that he occasionally rubbed. He seemed to not mind the silence.

The sun was barely a sliver in the sky, and the stars were starting to fade even more, and Dropguard was in awe. Cybertron, at least where he lived was always dark and bursting with stars, so to see something so different was... something. He didn't have a word for it. He was fine with that.

"Dropguard, why did you crash on Earth?" Asked Adorana finally. "You didn't come here on purpose." That was a statement.

He sighed, something he had picked up quickly from the two.

"Guerra," he whispered.

The two went quiet.

"There are two factions in this war. Autobots and Decepticons. The reasons are all over the place but Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons, started out was an activist for the rights of all cybertronians, along with Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots. But then Megatron's vision of freedom warped. He became a tyrant and warlord. So Optimus Prime and us, the Autobots, are fighting against the Cons. I was a guard for the Iacon Hall of Records before I was put on a team to go off world. And now I'm here. That is the quick answer."

The two mulled it over. They felt so small then. Ants to the universe.

"I'm sorry about the war, Dropguard. That is nothing easy." Said Moreno, patting the door handle.

"Thank you, Moreno."

"Since you can't leave Earth and we don't have working car anymore, quieres quedarte con nostros?" Offered Adorana.

"We have a garage," pipped in Moreno.

He pondered it.

"I have no problem with that if you have no problem with that," he answered finally.

"Then that's a deal, Guardía!" Grinned Adorana.

Maybe there is still some hope here, thought Dropguard.

* * *

**_~Translations~_**

**_De donde eres- _**where are you from

**_Guardía- _**Guardian/Guard (nickname for him)

**_Un planeta lejos de aquí-_** a planet far from here

**_y tan pequeñito- _**and so tiny

**_Guerra- _**war

**_quieres quedarte con nostros-_** do you want to stay with us


	4. Mi Casa Es Tú Casa

**Author's note: Thank you for the people who have favorite and followed this story, it makes me very excited! So I have a longer than usual chapter this time. After this, I might skip over some years to introduce new members to the Espina family sooner~ We'll see where this goes! Also I changed Dropguard's alt mode to a pale blue SUV. Van is not the correct word I was using. Enjoy!**

* * *

It had been a few days since Dropguard came into their lives, and Moreno was still trying to figure out how he felt about it.

Currently, Moreno was in the kitchen, getting little Ciro to eat his breakfast of beans and rice. They had danced this dance several times before and by now Moreno could say he had it down to a science.

Ciro gripped his little grubby hands to the table and stared down Moreno. Moreno stared coolly back, not intimidated by the small child.

He raised an eyebrow. "Listo?"

Ciro blew air out of his nose.

Without waiting a response from the baby, Moreno scooped up a small spoonful of beans and held it to the baby's mouth. One last glance his way, Ciro opened his mouth obediently and began chewing.

They were in agreement, for now.

"Moreno! Me voy a la escuela, te amo! Te amo Ciro!"

Adorana was substituting a class at one of the local high schools in Jasper for the day. Having substituted before many times, most of the kids knew her and seemed to like her.

She ran into the kitchen, pecked her son on the head and then pecked Moreno on the lips and dashed out of the house to get to the school early.

The two had decided not to wake Dropguard up. Moreno had the suspicion that he was still exhausted and injured and needed a few days to recover before they tried to take him around the neighborhood. In hindsight, they should have asked him when they first met if he was injured but the awe of meeting an actual alien sort of made them both forget common sense. But he didn't seem to be bleeding, so maybe he was okay.

That then lead Moreno to more thoughts. Do robots bleed? Do they even die? Wait, since he's an alien, what is his race?

A shriek shook him violently out of his thoughts.

Ciro looked indignant, his small little cheeks puffed up in rage for Moreno's negligence of his food. Moreno had the grace to look sheepish.

"Ay, perdón mijo," he scooped up the last of the beans and Ciro gobbled it up, still giving his father the stink eye for his mistake.

Moreno never knew a child could make him feel so embarrassed.

He finished up cleaning the dishes and went to work making sure the house was tidy. He put Ciro back in his crib, keeping a baby monitor in his hand for when the baby inevitably woke up again and then sat back in the kitchen. He got up and grabbed the broom. He liked to be busy.

He usually didn't mind the quiet, but he was itching for some songs from his home, Colombia. He pulled out some CDs and put one into the CD player in the living room, letting it play softly and drone out his quiet sweeping of the floor.

He hummed along as he finished sweeping the kitchen and moved on to the living room. His mind ticked away with little questions as he worked, all of them revolving around a certain blue bot in his garage.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Dropguard slowly came out of recharge, almost lazily. Music was playing from somewhere in the house. It was a good recharge, probably the best he had in a while. He settled into his wheels, not yet wanting to leave his spot, but good things always do come to a end and decided to check his surroundings better. He didn't have the layout of the house, nor the street and neighborhood either, so intruders would have an easy time coming inside if he wasn't prepared. He also knew that the added importance of Ciro, who would be vulnerable to intruders, meant he wanted to do a security check as quickly as possible.

He started to plan out his tasks and then transformed, immediately realizing his mistake.

He was in a garage that could house his alt mode comfortably. The same could not be said for his bot form.

"Ugh," He grunted as his upper half slammed into the ceiling, causing him to then trip over some tools before just face planting onto the ground. Hard.

He stayed down for a beat, very disappointed in himself before slowly getting up to his knees, still bent over.

He winced as several bolts of pain raced through his back, right between his two doorwings anytime he shifted his frame. He was suspected that some pieces of the ceiling might have lodged into the nooks and crannies of his doorwings and back.

"That's not good," he muttered.

"Guardía! I heard a crash in here, estas bien?" Moreno burst into the garage, still with a broom in hand. The music that Dropguard had been hearing had stopped when he crashed to the floor.

The garage seemed fine to Moreno, if he ignored the damage to the ceiling, but what was worrying him was the slowly oozing blue liquid coming from somewhere on Dropguard's back. He was on his knees, hands holding him up as he winced and grunted. He looked embarrassed at his predicament.

"Sorry, Moreno. I was going to do a perimeter check and I forgot how big I am compared to your garage," he shifted himself and managed to sit crossed legged, still bent over to avoid hitting the ceiling again.

"A perimeter check?" Questioned Moreno.

"It is a normal procedure I complete when I am in a new area. Scout, look for exits, and take note on anything suspicious. It's to make sure our area is secure and safe," He explained, like it was a normal thing to do.

And for him, it most likely was. He was in a war, supplied Moreno. It never hurts to be aware of your surroundings.

He shook himself out of his thoughts. "Guardía, you are leaking something. Are you injured?" He started to walk around the bot to look at the damage.

Dropguard shook his head, "Oh, don't worry about that, it's just a scratch," following Moreno by craning his neck.

"I beg to differ," murmured Moreno.

In between what Moreno thought was the front doors from when he turns into an SUV was what Moreno had to think was a broken blade or even blades embedded into the gaps in his armor. From those blades were where the blue liquid was coming from.

"Did someone stab you? Estas herido!" Moreno darted to the tool pile and grab his gloves and some tools to pull the blades out.

"Stab me...?" Dropguard looked confused.

Moreno stopped in his tracks.

"Do you remember anything?" He asked.

Dropguard's doorwings twitched. His optics dimmed for a second before they returned back to their normal brightness.

"It's... there. The memories, but there is a section that is... fuzzy. Our Captain and crew were under attack by Decepticons and then, I landed here."

Moreno nodded, lost in thought.

"I can patch you up, if you'd allow it."

Dropguard paused and then nodded. "I would be thankful, Moreno."

Dropguard settled down and sat sit as Moreno used the stool in the garage to reach the injury.

With only a few feet between them, Moreno could really see how complex Dropguard was. Yes, he had his pale blue plating, which now Moreno believed could be his armor and black flexible under armor that allowed him movement, but there was more. His neck was comprised of wires and thick tubes and even under the armor and around joints and openings there were wires and supports, similar to tendons and bones. The wings had joints that connected them to his back packed with wires and blue glowing 'bio lights' as Dropguard called them running down what would be the human equivalent of a spine. Even his hands were detailed and flexible, with black metal and digits that could flex and manipulate objects.

Moreno took a firm grip on one of the doorwings to prop himself when Dropguard stiffened.

"Moreno."

He let go immediately. "Sorry, did I hurt you?"

Dropguard chuckled. "No, it's just that doorwings for many cybertronians are sensitive. I just wasn't prepared. You can hold on to them if it helps you reach the blades." He adjusted himself and leaned back on his servos so Moreno could have an easier time.

"Seguro?" Moreno didn't want to make him uncomfortable.

"Seguro."

"Okay," he returned to work trying to yanking the blades out. "Is the music okay?"

"I like it, where is it from?"

"De-" he used a tool and pulled out a blade, eliciting a hiss from Dropguard,"-lo siento, Colombia. That is where I am from. I like to play Colombian music when I clean or work. Adorana plays more Mexican and Latino music, since she is Chicana."

Dropguard nodded and the two drifted into comfortable silence, listening to the music as Moreno removed the blades.

Moreno came to the conclusion that living with this metal giant would not be so bad.

* * *

**_~Translations~_**

**_Listo-_** Ready

**_Me voy a la escuela- _**I am going to the school

**_Te amo-_** I love you

**_Perdón- _**pardon/sorry

**_Mijo- _**son

**_estas bien-_** are you okay

**_Estas herido-_** you are hurt

**_Seguro- _**sure

**_De Colombia-_** from Colombia

**_lo siento-_** I am sorry


	5. The Search for Energon Pt 1

**Hello! It took me longer than usual to get this out. I was writing one chapter and then realized I needed to write some chapters in between to make it better, so I apologize for that! Anyways, this is part one of this little chapter and part two will be written in a bit. Thank you for reading! It means a lot to me!**

* * *

**_A few months later..._**

"Bueno, Guardía we need to..." Moreno was sitting in the passenger seat and gestured with his hands as if to reel in the words he was looking for, "we need to teach you how Earth _works_."

"I didn't follow the traffic rules there, did I?"

Adorana winced sympathetically. "Yeeeeeeeaah..."

Dropguard had in fact passed several stop signs outside of town which had caused back to back heart attacks for the two parents and no reaction from the baby in the back.

"So, stop at the red signs and then go?" Earth rules were odd, he noted.

"Sí. If there are other cars, if you arrive and stop first you get to go first." Moreno explained, patting the steering wheel.

"First come, first serve," Adorana summed up.

Dropguard would have nodded in his bot form but instead verbally confirmed he had heard.

The whole family and the bot were just driving around, seeing what Dropguard knew about Earth and what he might not. Last week was a close call with some government officials looking around the town and surrounding areas for "anything weird" which was code for aliens or anything that came from a big metal pod they had no doubt found, so it was best that they get Dropguard to blend in as well as possible. He had gotten the basic stuff down, but it was the small details that could blow his cover.

He had stopped and then started up again, engine revving a little to get started. It gave Adorana a thought.

"So, do you need fuel or something?" Asked Adorana.

Dropguard continued to drive around.

"I need Energon to get my energy and for some of my weapons," he replied, "it is both life and ammunition for us Cybertronians. Without it, well, we die."

"Pero usted tiene Energon? What if you run out?" Moreno questioned and then realized. "Is there Energon on Earth?"

Quick one, Dropguard thought with a smile. "Yes. Could we go find some? There's a small deposit not far away if my tracker isn't glitching."

"Por supuesto! It's food Guardía, you need it!" Adorana blurted. "Where is it?"

"Just an hour from here."

"Road trip then," shrugged Moreno. "Along the way we can get some food. Divirtámonos con esto," he smiled.

"Are you sure? I dont want to force you," the bot cautioned.

"Road trip! Let's go!" With that from Adorana, Dropguard shrugged, as much as an SUV could, and headed southeast in search of the Energon trail, trusting his tracker.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

They had stopped for the humans of the group to stretch their legs and buy some food and eat in the SUV bot as Dropguard continued driving. They had gotten some McDonald's burgers and fries, something he had noticed they don't do often, like a once a month sort of indulgence. He didn't point it out. It was convenient food.

"Adorana and Moreno, were you born in the United States of America? Or from other countries? "

"Yo nací en Colombia as you know, so my accent is stronger than most. Vine a Estados Unidos because of... how unstable it is there," he took a deep breath but said nothing more than, "I was in danger so I came here."

Dropguard sympathized with that. Many bots were forced from their homes on Cybertron as well. It was nothing easy.

Adorana cut the silence with, "And you got stuck with me," she grinned.

"I don't mind," he murmured and clasped her hand with his with a small smile.

Adorana laughed and squeezed his hand. "That was cheesy, pero te amo so you're safe."

She turned to the dashboard to face Dropguard in some way. "I was born here in America, but I'm Chicana since my family is all Mexican and half of the US is literally Mexican territory. Not that they even mention it, but that's just Americans for you." Adorana answered.

"Y ella tiene una grande familia tambien," poked Moreno.

She swatted him off.

Dropguard chuckled at their antics.

Moreno then asked him a question.

"Que era tú trabajo on your ship, if you do not mind me asking?" Moreno inquired.

Moreno usually didn't pry into other's lives, but he and Adorana were still curious of the pale blue bot. He was very private, which Moreno could relate to at times, but to him Dropguard was lonely. Which made sense if he thought about it. He was the only Cybertronian here in any direction for maybe even lightyears away.

He must have had friends, thought Moreno. What had happened to them? Would he want to talk about what happened to them?

Dropguard answered the question he had voiced. "I was on the SS Vilgance. We were a crew of nine and we were a communication post and scouts. We looked for Energon and tagged it for the Autobots to find and we defended those deposits from the Cons."

He finished with one more sentence, "I was the Security Officer on board."

He stopped all of a sudden. "This should be it!"

They had been so busy eating and talking and listening that they hadn't noticed Dropguard pull up to the place.

It was a large cave, big enough that even Dropguard could walk in with his bot form with no problem. It was hidden by small hills all around and it may have been once a mine that was then abandoned. Which meant no humans, and no trouble.

Adorana and Moreno exited the vechicle with little Ciro who had fallen asleep and after making sure they were truly alone, Dropguard transformed with whirls of parts sliding into place and attaching themselves to different areas and stood, stretching to get the odd kinks out of his frame.

"So, the Energon is in there?" Asked Adorana, pointing into the mouth of the cave.

Dropguard pulled out a device and aimed it at the cave and nodded. "Should be here, and close to the surface too."

He turned to the others, now wielding his spear. "I think you all should stay on the surface. I don't know how stable the cave is and we have little Ciro with us. I'll be quick," he promised.

"Usually I would go, but you're right about Ciro." Adorana huffed. "Stay safe, okay?"

His doorwings flicked up and his face broke into a smile. "Of course! I'll be done before you know it."

* * *

**_~Translations~_**

**_Bueno, Guardía - _**Well, Guardian

**_Sí - _**Yes

**_Pero usted tiene - _**But do you have

**_Por supuesto -_** Of course

**_Divirtámonos con esto - _**Let's have fun with us

**_Yo nací en - _**I was born in

**_Vine a Estados Unidos - _**I came to the United States

**_pero te amo - _**But I love you

**_Y ella tiene una grande familia tambien - _**And she has a big family too

**_Que era tú trabajo - _**What was your job


	6. The Search for Energon Pt 2

**Here part two! Enjoy!**

* * *

Getting to the Energon was harder than Dropguard thought, as he scratched his helm at the wall of rock in front of him, blocking the deposit he was looking for.

He tilted his helm to the side and tapped the tracker to see if it was a trick of faulty equipment. It was not, the screen pointed right at the wall with a blue hue. His doorwings flicked in frustration. He sighed and after a moment of deliberation, he put his spear between his doorwings again and transformed the servo not holding the tracker into a gun. It hummed for a few seconds before it loaded, ready for a shot, the muzzle now glowing with a blue hue.

"I guess I'm pulling a Motorstrike on this cave," he muttered to himself as he went into a safe position and determined a safe angle to shoot.

If he hit the Energon head on, it would ignite and kill him and collapse the mine, possibly even hurting the family waiting outside for him. That was something he wanted to avoid at all costs. But unlike Motorstrike he would give the Espinas a heads up, so after some more time adjusting his position, he used his private comm. to phone Adorana.

"Adorana? It's Dropguard."

"-eh? Guardía, tienes un cellular?" She sounded surprised.

He chuckled. "Not the type you are thinking of. I have a communications systems built into my audials that let's me, well, communicate. I just contacted you through my private communications system."

He was pretty sure he heard Moreno's brain ticking away with questions and the gears in Adorana's head turning to do the same. He forgot that they were teachers, mostly because they were in the middle of summer and they were in the house more often, but it was moments like these that he was reminded of their profession.

He spoke again, "Anyways, could you all please give the mine a safe distance? I'm going to do something I would consider reckless and I do not want it to backfire on you."

"Qué quieres decir con eso?" Came the small voice of Moreno.

He sighed. It would sound even more stupid out loud.

"I'm going to shoot the mine wall to get to the Energon. It's behind the wall. And could be dangerous and explosive. I would give the cave several meters of space."

Yup, stupid.

"And I thought you were the cautious one, Guardía," Adorana laughed.

"Yeah, but it's the only way to get to the Energon unfortunately."

There was some noise from Adorana's side of the line and then, "Ok, estamos listo. On your word."

Dropguard readied himself again. He aimed at the wall. "Ya!" and took his shot.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Thankfully, the mine did not collapse as the dust settled around the bot. Dropguard waved a servo in front of his helm so the particles wouldn't get in his optics and stepped closer the rubble, smiling as he saw glowing blue crystals. It was the Energon deposit, untouched.

"Guardía? Estás ahí?"

He put a digit to his audial, "Sí. I got it."

"Cool, we're coming in!"

"Wai-"

He heard, rather than saw the soft pitter patter of feet and a cane and then saw the little family, now staring at the Energon.

"Oh," Moreno said intelligently.

"Bacano," said Adorana.

Ciro just gurgled.

"Espera, yo voy a mover the Energon," warned Dropguard, stretching his servo out to stop them from moving closer.

He went up close to the Energon and went to work. He carefully pressed his digits into the crevices of the Energon, determining how much he could break off. With a smooth motion, he pulled his spear out and held it close at the tip, and chipped onto the Energon for a few minutes. A piece was finally carved out, and by a guess would last him a while before he would have to come back for more. It was no different from what he and his crew had to do, scouting and tagging and retrieving Energon, just that he didn't have the usual equipment with him.

Or the crew.

He shook himself out of his thoughts and turned around to smile at the family, the block of Energon in his servos.

"Ta-da," he said, letting them have a closer look by kneeling and setting the block on the ground.

"Juepucha," murmured Moreno, adjusting his glasses to get a better block of Energon as Ciro, who was in his arms, stretched a grubby hand out to touch the block.

Adorana had also moved closer when Dropguard again held a hand up for them to stop.

"Be careful, it can be harmful if you ingest it," cautioned Dropguard.

"Como sabes eso, Guardía?" Asked Moreno. He had stepped immediately away for the block before Ciro could touch it.

"Our ship and crew once encountered other organics who had tried to eat Energon and were poisoned as a result."

At their worried looks he continued quickly.

"It's safe touch!" he reassured them, "It's just not safe to eat or come in contact with broken skin, that's all."

They relaxed a bit with that, but still gave a respectable distance from the block.

After some more cutting, Dropguard managed to cut the block into smaller chunks to be processed by his Energon processor and downed a portion of Energon.

For the humans watching, Dropguard's optics slowly brightened up and as he got up from kneeling, his movements had changed too. His movements were usually slow and somewhat heavy and they had first thought it was because he was a big metal being, his movement wouldn't be as fast. But now, his movements were more fluid and natural, even his doorwings twitched with more expression than before. He felt different, more alive than before.

For Dropguard, he had felt like whatever slight drowsiness and discomfort he had in the back of his processor just disappeared.

He giggled, a first for the humans to hear ever from him. He stretched his frame and flexed his digits. He even spun his spear around, testing his dexterity.

He saw the human's curiosity and grinned, a little embarrassed. "Sorry for acting like a sparkling there. It's been a while since my system had Energon. The good kind I mean."

"Hey! No apologizing," tutted Adorana. "Bring some Energon home. I'm sure we can get it to fit in somewhere."

"El garaje tiene espacio," supplied Moreno.

Dropguard nodded at the two humans, "Wonderful! And thank you," he said.

"Ey, mi casa es tú casa, Guardía," the couple said in unison, getting a laugh out of all of them.

Dropguard transformed with the Energon in the trunk and the Espina's in the front and left the mine, sun high at noon with the odd family and bot heading back home, blasting Latino music while they drove through the desert.

"Let's get some quesadillas!"

* * *

**_~Translations~_**

**_tienes un cellular - _**You have a phone

**_Qué quieres decir con eso - _**What do you mean by that

**_estamos listo - _**We are ready

**_Ya - _**(in this context) Now

**_Estás ahí - _**Are you there

**_Sí - _**Yes

**_Bacano - _**Cool

**_Espera, yo voy a mover - _**Wait, I'm going to move

**_Juepucha - _**(it is a Colombian slang word like a 'dang' or 'damn' type of word, where Jueputa is a more vulgar 'son of a bitch')

**_Como sabes eso - _**How do you know that

_**El garaje tiene espacio -** _The garage has space

**_Ey, mi casa es tú casa - _**Hey, my house is you house


	7. New Year's Pt 1

**Hello again! Sorry it took so long to get this out, I've been busy with school work! Anyways, this is another long chapter. I'm also thinking of first finishing this story and then rewriting it all so it can be better, but that will be in a long time. Also, thank you david.davies.5851 for your comment! I'll be sure to remember that fact when I rewrite this all. But until then, I guess you all have to enjoy what I have for now. Then hopefully I'll make it better in the future.****This story is more like a dumping tank of all these ideas where I can just write them out and finally have put something into the world, as small as it is. A rough draft, if you will. By no means is this story going to be good, but if you enjoy it, that's great!****Thanks again for reading!**

* * *

Year: 1979/1980

It was New Year's Eve, with all of Jasper in the New Year's spirit and the Espina household in particular was bustling and loud with dozens of people and music. People of varying skin colors were going in and out the living room and kitchen, maneuvering around each other, yelling and shouting and laughing. Kids were running around, tripping everyone up. People had brought food and drinks and they were preparing still more food in the kitchen, where it was the most crowded but also the most well managed areas of the house.

This was because the woman managing the kitchen crew was one tall commanding woman, Adorana's aunt, Rose de Carmen Santiago. An impressive name for an impressive woman.

Adorana was barred from the kitchen, in part because her leg injury started to flare up, and also because she was 7 months pregnant, which was not easy on her. So, begrudgingly, she was in the living room but still having a fun time talking to her cousins, nephews, nieces and any uncles and aunts that were sitting around too as music played from the record player. She also introduced a new friend that was staying with her and her husband.

Beside her was Dropguard, sitting in his holoform, seeing all the chaos unfold with curiosity and a bit of apprehension. He wore a blue shirt and simple pants. His long black hair in dreads was up in bun and he had brown skin. He was tall and lean with black eyes that were calming for the people in the room, though they weren't sure why.

He waved shyly from his seat beside Adorana. "Salud, me llamo Lau Ward."

"Mucho gusto, Lau!" Came the enthusiastic reply of the cousins.

He sighed in relief. Dropguard started to develop the holoform a few months ago when his repair systems had given him the all clear. At first, it was very simple. A human of an unspecified gender with a coat and a hat covering their face. But since he knew he was going to be on Earth for a while, he decided to modify the disguise to seem more realistic. Thus, at the moment, he was a man, though he had no preferences to any gender or sex and could switch it up whenever he liked.

Att some point Moreno had come up beside Adorana and handed her a bottle of Coke with one hand while the other was holding Ciro, almost two years old. At the moment, the little terror was just content being in Moreno's arms.

He greeted everyone and said, "Yo creo que la fiesta se va a appenzar," nodding his head to the back of the house.

More relatives started to make their way to the living room and then outside in the backyard to watch the fireworks show that would begin in a few hours. Dropguard stopped trying to count at that point as they poured out and into the house, it seemed every single person related or even a tenth related to Adorana and Moreno were at the party.

Finally, the crew in the kitchen had come out too, brandishing dishes and pots and trays full of fresh delicious food. Tamales, both from Mexican and Colombian hands (there is a difference between the two, believe me), were stacked on several plates along with empanadas and arepas made with extra cheese and pots full of yellow coloured rice with vegetables and chicken mixed in. The pavo was set on a table, all cut and ready for the picking and beside it was a beautifully arranged tray of different chunks of meat and fried sweet plantains with melted cheese in the middle. Buñelos and pandebonos, some filled with guava paste, were set on trays and there was even natilla with cinnamon on top too. And of course there was the ponche navideño and other drinks for any thirsty partygoers.

Everyone made a loose line for the food and after sitting down again, everyone began to devour the food.

"Lau, tienes familia aquí?" Asked one of the cousins, the one named Loreto, as he was stuffing as many pandebonos in his face as he could without burning himself.

Dropguard paused. "No."

In his few months here on Earth had time to think about the whereabouts of his teammates, his crew.

His family, as odd as it sounded.

He was hoping that some of them survived, maybe even all. That would be a miracle, but one could hope.

What would they think of me here on Earth? He thought. He was stranded, and needed to make the best of it. It helped that he had friends in the two Latinos beside him.

He blinked. Friends. Yes, they were friends.

More small talk was made for a while before most people were finishing up their food. Dropguard luckily found a way to avoid eating, as his holoform was not capable of that, by somehow convincing the family members near him that he had just eaten very fast and they just didn't notice and that he was very full, thank you very much.

Moreno's voice broke through his thoughts. "Lau, can you help me move the couch? La familia quiere bailar ahora."

The holoform got up and smiled, thoughts forgotten."Of course," he moved over and gripped one side as Moreno gripped the other. "One, two, three!"

With a heave, they quickly shuffled the couch back and set it back down. The floor was quickly filled with dancing people as the music was cranked up. People took turns on the dance floor so everyone who wanted to dance had the chance. And even as pregnant as she was and with her leg injury, Adorana got a couple of softer dances in, even as Moreno urged her to take it easy.

Dropguard, having listened to much Latino music while the duo were home, or even when they popped in music on long rides, had a keen audial for the music now and even enjoyed it. In an odd sense, he knew a vague concept of the steps in those dances, but had never tested it out. So instead, he just swayed side to side in one corner of the room, watching the laughter and dance swell up and down in the house with a relaxed smile. The smell of food and sweat and sweet deserts was in the air, and thankfully for everyone inside, the doors of the house were open to let cool air in.

Moreno, now free of little Ciro who was with one of the uncles, was just dragged into the fray by a handful of family members but to Dropguard's surprise, was tearing up the dance floor, in his own skilled yet gentle way, having expert control of his body movements and smooth steps, quickly switching partners after each song.

"That's Caleños for you, son locos para bailar." The voice came from beside him, making he immediately tense up.

It was Adorana, who had seemingly materialized out of nowhere, holding her hand up at him. "Did I spook you?"

"A little, perdón," he said. "What did you mean by Caleño?"

She lowered her hand and turned to watch Moreno, still dancing up a storm with a smile. "He was born in Cali, Colombia. People from Cali are known for their ability to dance. And he is definitely Caleño," she laughed.

Dropguard chuckled, having also turned his attention to the man. " He really is, isn't he?"

Adorana giggled and nodded.

Dropguard was reminded vivdly of Aceblade, the brightly colored mech with his flexible and dexterous movements similar to Moreno's dancing style. Dropguard smiled sadly at the memory.

"Reminding you of someone?" Adorana asked softly.

He sighed and nodded, still watching the scene. "Our third in command Officer Aceblade." He said softly. " He moved like that, even if he wasn't dancing."

She bumped his shoulder with hers in comfort, "Quieres bailar?"

He blinked rapidly. He didn't expect that. "I-I don't actually know how," he mumbled.

At those words, Adorana's eyes glittered. "I can show you! Come here!"

She grabbed his hand and dragged him out to the floor. Not in the middle of everything of course, she had learned over the months that Dropguard was someone who avoided the spotlight as much as he could, so she found a spot still near where they were standing previously but far away enough to not trip on any of the folks sitting and eating.

"I'll lead this time since I am going to teach you," she explained.

She positioned him to face her and hold her left hand and to put his other hand on her shoulder as she put a hand on his back. He looked still a bit nervous but he trusted that Adorana would make sure he didn't fail spectacularly.

"Listo, Lau?" She tilted her head playfully with a wide grin.

He had a nervous smile. "Just be careful with yourself?"

She waved a hand. "Ya, ya. So, ready?" She repeated.

"Ya." He responded.

They started out slow, basic steps with some tips on how to move one's hips a bit more so the movement was more fluid and noticeable. Dropguard had to concentrate on his movements, counting each step to not trip. But he was slowly, very slowly, getting a hang of it.

By the end of night, Dropguard had danced with not only with Adorana, but with Moreno, the cousins, some aunts, and other family members until time was a foreign concept to him. Luckily, the holoform didn't tire, or else he would've sat down long ago.

He finished a dance with a cousin of Moreno named Ida who smiled and thanked him for the dance. He still had more energy to dance, so he began to look for someone who was interested over the sea of bodies moving in rhythm.

"The fireworks are going to begin!" Came a shout from somewhere, causing an excited stir in the house.

Dropguard tried to think of what they had meant before being quickly found by Adorana, Moreno and Ciro, Adorana had Moreno's hand in hers and grabbed Dropguard by her other hand and herded them all outside.

She looked over her shoulder and grinned at him, eyes twinkling in mirth. "Vamos, Guardía! The fireworks van a appenzar!"

"Fireworks?" Asked Dropguard, letting himself be guided by the woman.

She didn't seem to hear him. They found a spot on the grass and the couple with Ciro all laid down on their backs, so Dropguard joined them and took a spot beside Adorana. He settled down slowly before he became still, watching what everyone else was doing.

Everybody had spilled out into the backyard with some chairs and drinks, all looking up into the sky either sitting or laying down, waiting expectantly for something to happen. It unnerved Dropguard, to say to the least.

"Que es esto?" He kept his eyes on the sky but turned his head slightly towards Adorana.

"Fireworks are things that people shoot into the sky and explode into colores y patrones cheveres. You'll see in uno segundos." She whispered, eyes focused on the sky.

A sharp whistling was heard before the first firework went sailing up and into the sky, exploding with an jarring BANG! and an explosion of colours. And soon, more fireworks joined the fray, illuminating the dark sky with vibrant colours and noise.

The whole extended family let out a roar of approval at the sight. Adorana whooped as Moreno laughed.

Adorana turned to see what Dropguard thought of his first firework show.

"Guardía! Que-" her eyes widened and she went rigid.

She sat up and looked around. Moreno stopped laughing and looked at Adorana.

"Que paso?" He started looking around to see what she was seeing.

Or more like what she was not seeing.

Beside Adorana, where Dropguard was previously laying down, was now empty. With no Dropguard in sight.

* * *

**~_Translations~_**

**_Salud, me _****_llamo - _**hello my name is

**_Mucho gusto_** **_\- _**pleased to meet you

**_Yo creo que la fiesta se va a appenzar_** \- I think the party is going to start

**_tienes familia aquí_** \- do you have family here

**_La familia quiere bailar ahora_** \- the family wants to dance now

**_Caleños_** \- people born in Cali, Colombia

**_son locos para bailar_** \- they're crazy for dancing/ they are crazy dancers

**_perdón_** \- sorry/pardon

**_Quieres bailar_** **_-_** do you want to dance

**_Listo_** **_\- _**ready

**_Vamos_** **_-_** lets go

**_van a appenzar_** **_-_** about to start

**_Que es esto_** **_-_** what is this

**_colores y patrones cheveres_** **_-_** cool colours and patterns

**_uno segundos_** **_-_** a few seconds

**_Que_** **_-_** what

**_Que paso_** **_-_** what happened


	8. New Year's Pt 2

**Hello! School has been trying to kill me, so I'm sorry I didn't update sooner! Tbh, this chapter has been kinda hard to write because it just wasn't coming out how I wanted, but finally I managed to get _something_ made, as crummy as it is. I fully admit that I don't personally know what it is like to have a traumatic trigger, but I did do some research to make sure I wasn't _really_ messing it up. If you do have personal experience with triggers and how they affect people and see that I made an error or errors that are harmful, please let me know! I want to make sure I'm not being disrespectful to anyone who does deal with these issues.**

**So, with that, here's the chapter! Thanks for reading!**

* * *

It was the early morning after New Year's Eve. The sun was peeking up and the sky was rose and orange, now a new year. The last of the relatives in the Espina household were getting ready to leave to visit other relatives with the help of Moreno, as to leave the house with its sole occupants.

Dropguard and Adorana were in the garage. Adorana was sitting on one of the two chairs near the door leading to the house and Dropguard was sitting against the wall of the garage in his bot form, hugging his knee pikes, helm hidden with raised and shaking doorwings. He was still shaking, small termors rippled down his frame with deep invents and exvents even though the emotions had left long ago.

His spear had been discarded around the same time.

Adorana gently laid a hand on his frame. It was slighty warm and there was a twitch. His helm raised up a little. An optic met where her hand was and then met her eyes, beyond tired.

Her eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Guardía?" She whispered.

He sighed and closed his optics before opening them again. He didn't say anything.

Dropguard's frame was crawling, prickly, burning. He wanted to tear off every piece of armor off to get the feeling to go away and to rip his spark and processor out so they would stop, stop doing whatever they were doing to make him shake and his processor buzz.

Everything was too much, so he pushed himself from the wall and proceeded to lay flat on his back, resting his servos on his chasis, staring at the grey ceiling of the garage.

"Guardía?" Adorana got up from her chair, a bit alarmed, but Dropguard was not paying attention.

It was something he had always done as a sparkling. Things got to be too much, drop the ground. Just focus on the hard ground and the starry sky above. His frame and processor would settle and relax and after a few minutes of star watching, everything seemed to balance out and wind down.

He closed his optics and focused on the moment, where he was, where he wasn't. And then on Adorana's voice.

"You should go to sleep, Adorana. It's la mañana and you're pregnant."

"I'm not leaving you like this. Te quiero ayudar. Even if it's a little while."

Dropguard opened his optics slowly. He felt like recharging but at the same time, he couldn't.

"Que paso a ya afuera?" She asked.

Silence overtook the garage. Adorana could even hear some of her nieces saying goodbye and leaving and Moreno still helping others to pack up in the living room. Dropguard had closed his optics again, looking deflated.

"Could...could you just talk, Adorana, por favor?"

Adorana stared at the bot after hearing his voice. It was small, exhausted. He was starring at the ceiling again, optics dimmed. She wanted answers but she couldn't bring herself do it yet in his state. So, she dragged her chair closer to him and sat down with a creak.

"De que, Guardía?" She said gently.

"Lo que quieras."

She leaned back on her chair and nodded. She told him about her childhood, living in small homes stuffed with a big family. Always moving, sometimes to Mexico, sometimes back to the US, but never far from the warm weather. Moments in history she was able to be alive for, the jobs that she worked in. Some good, some weird and some were real downers. And then meeting Moreno and everything that entailed.

She had a lively way of speaking that, even with his optics offline and even as time zoomed by, he could hear and feel her history, as short as it was compared to his own long, everlasting lifetime, even though he wasn't really much older than Adorana, mentally speaking. His frame had stopped trembling by now and his doorwings had stopped twitching and everything had seemed to relaxed, even the ringing in his processor. He opened his optics at one point to watch Adorana explain the one time her and her siblings teamed up on some jerks from school and chucked rotten apples at them from the trees nearby their home, using her brown hands to mimic a brutal chuck of an apple she did to a boy below the belt, and at that point the jerks had run off and their parents punished them for starting a fight. Adorana swore that the jerks were the ones that started it, they had just finished it. That got a bark of laughter out of Dropguard.

"What? It was their fault!" She insisted with her arms crossed over her swollen belly. "They made fun of mi hermano and they got what they deserved."

Dropguard started to sit up and gave a small smile to Adorana. "My captain, Rotorboom, always said that before you start a fight, you have to know you can finish it."

Adorana tapped her temple with a grin. "Viva."

"Muy viva." He agreed.

Adorana shifted in her chair to look at his face. "Como estas ahora?"

He cycled his optics and gave a small nod. He was calmer as far he could tell, just exhausted now.

"I think I will be fine." He made eye contact with her. "Thank you." He murmured, looking away.

She started to wave a hand before yawning into it. "-Don't worry about it, Guardía. Do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head. No, not yet.

Adorana yawned again but nodded. "-Perdon, entonces me voy. If you need anything, get me or Moreno. Like, just come in and ask. Queremos ayudar, okay?"

The bot smiled and tapped her on the cheek with a digit. "Gracias. Muchisimo, Adorana. Now go sleep!"

She laughed and patted the digit and got up as Moreno came in.

He greeted Dropguard. "I'm sorry I wasn't here, how are you?"

Dropguard nodded. "Better now. I'm sorry about... that."

"No apologizing!" Declared Adorana now standing.

Moreno chuckled and turned to Dropguard. "Como Adorana, you don't have to apologize. We will have to remember that fact for next year so you can enjoy it another way."

Dropguard inclined his helm. "That's very kind of you."

Moreno shrugged. "It's just common decency I believe. Sorry we didn't check with you beforehand."

Adorana let out a bigger yawn, cueing in everyone to go to sleep. So with a final agreement that Dropguard would be ok, they both went to bed.

Dropguard transformed into the SUV when they left and had turned the lights off. The sound of crickets just outside the house let him drift into recharge. They were all going to sleep in for the day.

* * *

**_~Translations~_**

**_la mañana-_** the morning

**_Te quiero ayudar-_** I want to help you

**_Que paso a ya afuera-_** what happened out there

**_por favor-_** please

**_De que- _**of what

**_Lo que quieras- _**whatever you want

**_mi hermano-_** my brother

**_Viva-_** clever (girl) (referring to a female, in this case, Rotorboom)

**_Muy viva- _**very clever

_**Como estas ahora-** _how are you now

**_Perdon-_** pardon/excuse me

**_entonces me voy-_** I'm leaving then

**_Queremos ayudar-_** we want to help you

**_Gracias-_** thank you

**_Muchisimo- _**so much


	9. Can Anyone Hear Me?

**It's the Vigilance crew chapter after the attack that brought Dropguard to Earth! This chapter came out so quickly and I'm pretty happy about it. I'll sprinkle these bots in every while, mostly to show the dynamics of the crew since they were stuck together in the same ship scouting out Energon. Are they all alive? Will they see each other again? You'll see~ Tell me what you think about it! Now, on to the story!**

* * *

**_Somewhere in space..._**

Aceblade was alone. The ship was torn wide open, with debris floating in the vacuum of space and wires sparking. The small, lean mech was struggling to hold on to what used to be the floor of his workplace.

"Ahh!" Steam from a pipe of what was the engine room hit him as his piece of floor floated past, causing him to kick widely to get away, to no avail.

The ship, as Aceblade looked around, looked like it was torn from the inside out and then rammed into and then chewed and spit out again for good measure. What was the med bay was now ten different chunks all drifting in different directions with parts of the communications room and storage rooms connected in ways they weren't before.

The brightly yellow, red, and purple coloured mech hit the wall of the main control with a soft thud and a groan. With clever slender digits, he latched on to the wall and attempted to climb through the wreckage. Maybe that would work better.

First things first, contact the crew. He touched his audial and was hit with violent static, causing him to cry out and hold his helm.

"Primus, okay then," he gasped. To the communications room then. Or, at least, the part with the equipment.

His small frame was not meant for battle, he knew this, everyone did. So getting from one place to another by hopping and slamming into debris was not helping his already injured frame. As he liked to say to the others, he's a 'one hit K.O. kind of bot'. Sure, he's a slippery mech in fights, but sooner or later he's gonna get hit. And he'll hit the ground hard when he does.

Or did, he grumbled as he slammed yet again into another piece of wall, which wasn't even a hard impact because this was space, but hurt nonetheless. Being pitted against two Stormrunner sized Cons was not what he wanted even if he manage to avoid the killing blows, but then again, you don't always get what you want.

Dropguard had inquired him about his armour one day. Aceblade was with a crouching Dirtspin, the chief engineer, perched on the larger mech's shoulder as the mech worked patiently on the backup generator to fix some glitches spotted by the junior engineer Phasecircuit. Dropguard popped in and waved and walked over to the two.

"Everything alright?" He asked.

Dirtspin turned his head to Dropguard and nodded in response, returning to his work lifting thick wires with his large clawed yet careful servos.

Dropguard nodded. "Good," he focused on the bot perched on the engineer. "Ace, can I talk to you for a click?"

"Sure!" He chirped. He patted Dirtspin and hopped off, following Dropguard outside.

Dropguard stopped and turned to face the smaller bot once outside the engine room. "Ace, you need more armor. " He crossed his arms, face plate full of concern.

"Uh," Aceblade scratched the back of his helm and laughed nervously, "that's easier said then done, mech."

Dropguard titled his helm, brow ridges furrowed voicing a silent question.

Aceblade clarified. "I'm small, Dropguard. And it turns out I can't have more armor because it really strains my spark. It's not pretty when I've tried to get more armor. Fuseline can fill you in on more of the medical side of it. Like a 'weak spark' or something." He shrugged sheepishly. "But, uh, yeah." Not one of his best explanations, but he got the idea across.

Dropguard nodded in understanding, doorwings flicking. "Okay, thank you for telling me. For now, we'll just have to keep you out of trouble, huh?" He nudged Aceblade playfully.

Aceblade laughed. A high, giddy laugh. Since when did he ever _not_ get in trouble?

He came back to the present again from a jolt of pain in his left servo after catching himself against a console.

"Yes!" He started to type in some commands. Maybe all the wiring was still in place for at least one message. He'd have to experiment to see if he could put it together to send messages at farther distances.

As far as Aceblade knew, the crew was scattered after the battle. Dropguard, by the clumsy servos of the Cons, was blasted off to Primus knows where from one of the emergency pods.

Rotorboom, Stormrunner, and Fuseline were together in the main deck when the fight began and he hadn't seen the two femmes and mech since, only hearing the sonic blasts from Rotorboom's servos a few times before it stopped.

Dirtspin and Phasecircuit were no doubt in the engine room when it all went down and he was pretty sure he had heard a telltale explosion of Dirtspin's handiwork.

Aceblade was with Motorstrike and Motorstrike, did, well, what Motorstrike did best; he had gone guns blazing towards the Cons, with a snarl and grin.

And who even _knows_ where Enigma was at. Not that she would abandon them, but Enigma was the type to want to control the battle field. So, who knows what she had cooked up.

All Aceblade knew was that he hadn't seen any bodies. So, they weren't dead.

So where were they?

"This is Communications Officer Aceblade of the SS Vilgance, crew of the SS Vilgance, come in."

Nothing.

"Bots, this is Aceblade of the SS Vilgance, shake a pede, bots!"

He tried calibrating the console to catch the weakest signal, hoping to get something in the frequencies.

Still nothing.

He exvented and tried again. "This is Aceblade, Communications Officer of the SS Vilgance! Captain, Stormrunner, Dirtspin, anyone, come in!"

This continued for a long period of time, Aceblade had lost count how many times he had talked. He stayed latched on to the console, but sooner or later his energon tank would run dry, sped up by some of his injuries.

He started to doze off, tired, and the console started to glitch, the screen flickering in odd colours. He jerked online and banged on the console. He tried to send a message on the general Autobot frequency.

"Primus, someone answer me." He tried one more time. "This is Communications Officer Aceblade of the SS Vilgance. Our ship has been attacked and destroyed by the Decepticons. I-"

"Hello? Aceblade!" A static filled voice came to life on his frequency.

"Phasecircuit! You're alive! What's your status? Location?" He demanded. At least he knew that the young engineer was still online.

"Um, I'm okay, but... they-they took Dirtspin, Ace." Her voice was wobbly, trying to hold it in.

His tank dropped. "What do you mean, Phaser?" He softened his voice.

"The Cons, Ace! He-he tried..." she was choking now, and Aceblade could practically see the energon tears threatening to spill over.

His spark clenched. He knew better than anyone that Phasecircuit and Dirtspin were close, like sire and sparkling. And Phasecircuit wasn't a fighter, she was an engineer, both those bots are. Didn't really matter how many times Dropguard had prepared them for a fight, Phasecircuit was really just a kid, younger than Rotorboom and Rotorboom is quite young compared to the rest of the crew. This, Aceblade realized, may be the first time Phasecircuit was not on the winning side of a fight against Cons.

"Hey, Phaser? Can you tell me where you are?"

"I... do you see that blue star over there?"

He looked around and found the star she was talking about. "Yeah, my back is facing it."

"Okay, I think I can see near the star like the door to the med bay. Can we meet there?"

"Yeah, the door floating up? Meet you there."

"Stay safe." And she clicked off.

Aceblade hopped onto a piece of ruined furniture and started his path towards the door.

When they find each other, they had to find the others, he decided. Dead, or alive.


End file.
